Tatum as the 6th man

[Boise To Boston]

Exactly.  Start and finish with those five, but then stagger the minutes of Tatum and Hayward so that one is always on the court.

Irving-Brown-Hayward-Tatum-Horford.

Simple

[Fafnir]

Quote
I believe Tatum would be a great 6th man next year.

CBS does not, and didn't Tatum start the first game?   

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/10/17/tatum-celtics-starting-lineup-cavaliers-nba-opening-night/

If CBS thought that last year and Tatum proves he belonged and got acclaim everywhere from everyone, then the odds of him going back the bench are small.

Yeah the plan is clearly to start those 5 players. Unless they're consistently getting off to awful starts I think Brad will do something similar to the playoffs when they dropped Semi from the rotation.

Brown came out at 7 minutes for Morris and then the wings rotated. Maybe that sort of early rotation will be used against teams that play two bigs.

[jbpats]

Absolutely not.
I'd add more to this but it's not really needed.

[tstorey_97]

What a problem to have...huh?

Hayward starts the games.
Hayward, knows how to pass and other useful "veteran NBA all star" stuff.
It is going to be beyond difficult turn your back on Irving+ Hayward.

If Tatum has to come off the bench because Stevens wants to give Horford a break at center and start a big? Why on this Earth is that a problem? Tatum gets the same minutes.

This discussion is about minutes and Tatum is going to get as many as any other starter whether he's in for the tip or not.

If he is going to be sixth man? I'm getting a time machine to fast forward to next October, this is gonna be unbelievable.

[Fafnir]

Most basketball players definitely care if they start or not, no matter what minutes they end up getting. If one of Brown/Tatum ends up coming off the bench it definitely could be an issue.

Look at Melo's reaction to suggestions of being a bench player for OKC, that's a typical response of a player. Most are just smart enough to not say so publicly or realize they don't have the clout to voice displeasure with a coach.

[Celtics4ever]

Tatum may or may not have been on the bench if Morris wasn't suspended for the start of season. Then Hayward got injured and the rest is history.

So do you think that Tatum will go to the bench because Morris is healthy?   I sure as heck don't even with Hayward back. 

Tatum is most likely here to stay as a starter for now.   I for one like that.

f Tatum has to come off the bench because Stevens wants to give Horford a break at center and start a big? Why on this Earth is that a problem? Tatum gets the same minutes.

Like it or not Tatum is going to stay a starter.   The league picked up on him during the playoffs and he is going to be a future star.   Barring a deal, he will start.   Morris knows this and went to the press with " I am not sure what my role is", because he knows this to  be the case.

[Eddie20]

I believe Tatum would be a great 6th man next year. I think he can still finish games but by being the 6th man it makes him more aggressive and assertive on offense. If he's starting its limiting his touches and effectiveness with Hayward, Kyrie and Brown. Let Tatum play verse other backups and destroy them.

I watched him stand around too much on offense when he should've had the ball. He can run off 8-10 point runs by himself. Yes, he could easily start but putting the offense in his hands and watch him go to work would really take pressure off the starters. We probably wouldn't have those droughts when starters sat down. Rozier, Smart, Tatum, Morris and Theis...or Baynes if Smart is gone.

Objections?

If those guys comprise the second unit, who exactly do you have starting for Tatum?

[KungPoweChicken]

Tatum is a primary or secondary scorer on a championship caliber team. Bringing him off the bench seems like a misuse of his abilities.

[Sophomore]

I believe Tatum would be a great 6th man next year. I think he can still finish games but by being the 6th man it makes him more aggressive and assertive on offense. If he's starting its limiting his touches and effectiveness with Hayward, Kyrie and Brown. Let Tatum play verse other backups and destroy them.

I watched him stand around too much on offense when he should've had the ball. He can run off 8-10 point runs by himself. Yes, he could easily start but putting the offense in his hands and watch him go to work would really take pressure off the starters. We probably wouldn't have those droughts when starters sat down. Rozier, Smart, Tatum, Morris and Theis...or Baynes if Smart is gone.

Objections?

If those guys comprise the second unit, who exactly do you have starting for Tatum?

Who are we playing? If it’s Philly we might start Baynes. Somebody else we might start Smart.

[Rosco917]

I think if they remeasure Tatum they'll find that he is 6-9 or better, and most likely too big to be a shooting guard.

The truth for me is I'd rather see Brown come off the bench, where he can get more reps as the main scorer on the second unit. See if we can't correct some of his weakness like getting tied up as he heads to the rim.

[bellerephon]

I'm not sure the Celts will have a true second unit, if by that we mean a group that plays lots of minutes when all five starters are on the bench. I tend to think that one or two of the starters will likely be on the floor for most of the game. In that situation there is no need to put Tatum or Hayward on the bench.

[Jon]

Yeah, as others have said, I don’t get the sixth man fascination. Again, as others have said, just stagger the rotation with an early sub out for someone and keep 2-3 of the starting 5 out there at all times.

[cman88]

Tatum will start...

But either Hayward/Tatum will be pulled early in the quarter and then come out with the 2nd unit.

Celtics already were doing that with Tatum this year in order to give the 2nd unit a scoring punch. I imagine they will next year when the starting five is irving/brown/hayward/Tatum/Horford

[LilRip]

I can see this happening although it’s doubtful. The best lineup we have is Kyrie, Jaylen, Gordon, Tatum and Horford. I do like the idea of starting Baynes though so that we can preserve Horford better. I think he can play the 5 effectively in spurts (like to close a game). I think it’s hard to do it for most of the game.

[vjcsmoke]

Naaah, this idea is not completely trash but it's unrealistic.  We're not talking about a guy like Isaiah Thomas who was great offensively but a defensive liability.

Jayson Tatum is a true 2-way player who is solid defensively, and is probably our 2nd best offensive player next year and our #2 scoring option.  What I'd like to see is Tatum getting more minutes and a higher usage percentage.  I'd like to see it bump from the regular season average of 20% to 25%+.

If you want a guy to jumpstart offense the 2nd unit, we still have Rozier and Marcus Morris for those purposes.  And I'm pretty sure we can grab an instant offense guy with the MLE now that the Celtics will be considered serious title contenders next year.